Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

[nanwel]

Interesting that it became so widespread so early in the cruise. How many people were already "contaminated" prior to boarding.

And how many continue to say, I am fine - as they run to the washroom etc. - not wanting to dissappoint others in the group or to miss out on what they good money for - we all know the ones that say " I am fine!"

PLEASE - if you are ill - keep it to yourself - one day in your room to get over it will not ruin your cruise!

But, not sure what point you become infectious - before the fever breaks, and you are busy mixing with all sorts of people then oops - too late as you get the fever?? Not heard the timing of the infectious period"

And, although, yes, I do wash after using the washroom.

There is also the theory that you can be too sanitary and wash away the good germs - people that use gallons of the sanitary goo.

Think a lot is just luck or not of the draw.

[Oshawapilot]

But, not sure what point you become infectious - before the fever breaks, and you are busy mixing with all sorts of people then oops - too late as you get the fever?? Not heard the timing of the infectious period"

 

Norwalk doesn't typically spread through the air unless you happen to be in the unfortunate path of someones vomit stream..so the "infectious period" before symptoms show isn't that big of a concern. It's once you come down with it and are spraying bodily fluids everywhere (sorry for the visual, but it is what it is) that the infection risk multiplies (basically, THIS is the infectious stage) because the risk of some of those fluids ending up where others will come into contact with them becomes exponentially greater.

 

Theoretically, someone who is at the "peak" of the illness could very well infect nobody at all even if you were in the same room with them so far as physical contact with the virus was avoided. This is why people are quarantined - minimize the hand-to-object-to-hand-to-face=infected situation.

 

The problem is that people get sick, don't maintain properly personal cleanliness (basically, washing your hands after you use the bathroom, or are sick in some fashion), and then spread the virus onto common items around the ship that others touch...and then those people inadvertently infect themselves by hand to mouth/face contact.

 

Read up here:

 

http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/norwalk/fact_sheet.htm

Edited January 26, 2014 by Oshawapilot

[rubrrick]

Check out the latest Royal Caribbean News from Cruise Critic:

 

Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

 

Laura, you may want to combine your thread with the one that was started yesterday morning.

 

It's always a sad note when Noro, or any spreadable disease hits and disables a person. Noro, so I have been told, as I have not experienced it first hand, but have been aboard where wood walls turn white from the disenfectant used. It was so bad, once, while sailing on the Celebrity Mercury (now Meinchef1, I believe) having a Royal Suite, the staff suggested that we just stay in and since we had a dining table, use it for the next 24 hours, until they knew that they had a better handle on containing the ship.

 

We would hear crewmembers constantly cleaning all exterior door handles, maybe once every half hour. I know for a fact that the crew was exhausted, but continued to battle for containment.

 

The Hotel Director dined with us, in our cabin that evening. Although we knew each other fairly well, it was a hug and then elbow to elbow for any greeting. He imparted how widespread the problem was, and it was started by a group that actually brought the Noro aboard, and knew that they were infected, but wanted to cruise anyway.

 

If people coming aboard just understood what they could be doing to so many, and the fact that the cruiselines today, are willing to credit the entire cruise to another one......if one comes to the terminal and claims to have symptoms, and is checked out, I know it's hard when something is planned for so long........but we are seeing more and more of this, and it's my belief that people just don't want to take responsibility for their actions.

 

Laura, I wish you could emphasize more of what Noro can do in a confined space, and maybe post a sticky of what the CDC recommends if one is feeling ill........and have not even boarded the ship, to start their vacation.

 

Thanks.

 

Rick

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Laura, you may want to combine your thread with the one that was started yesterday morning.

 

It's always a sad note when Noro, or any spreadable disease hits and disables a person. Noro, so I have been told, as I have not experienced it first hand, but have been aboard where wood walls turn white from the disenfectant used. It was so bad, once, while sailing on the Celebrity Mercury (now Meinchef1, I believe) having a Royal Suite, the staff suggested that we just stay in and since we had a dining table, use it for the next 24 hours, until they knew that they had a better handle on containing the ship.

 

We would hear crewmembers constantly cleaning all exterior door handles, maybe once every half hour. I know for a fact that the crew was exhausted, but continued to battle for containment.

 

The Hotel Director dined with us, in our cabin that evening. Although we knew each other fairly well, it was a hug and then elbow to elbow for any greeting. He imparted how widespread the problem was, and it was started by a group that actually brought the Noro aboard, and knew that they were infected, but wanted to cruise anyway.

 

If people coming aboard just understood what they could be doing to so many, and the fact that the cruiselines today, are willing to credit the entire cruise to another one......if one comes to the terminal and claims to have symptoms, and is checked out, I know it's hard when something is planned for so long........but we are seeing more and more of this, and it's my belief that people just don't want to take responsibility for their actions.

 

Laura, I wish you could emphasize more of what Noro can do in a confined space, and maybe post a sticky of what the CDC recommends if one is feeling ill........and have not even boarded the ship, to start their vacation.

 

Thanks.

 

Rick

 

Rick,

 

Question - when one has noro, how would they be able to come to the terminal? It's a terrible sickness where you basically can't leave the bathroom/bed for much time at all. And even if they were to come to the terminal, they're infecting others there, as well.

 

I realize this is a completely different subject, but I'm asking your thoughts as this happened to me last year in Ft. Lauderdale prior to boarding the Independence. I don't believe it was noro, but something very similar (stomach), and we decided to not go to the ship at the risk of infecting others, also for myself, I was too sick to cruise. I saw your comment on cruiselines crediting a future cruise and I don't believe that's true without insurance. We are D+ and did not have insurance unfortunately, and lost almost everything. They did not credit another cruise.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that it's a shame that someone is so selfish to bring this on the ship - feel so bad for the sick passengers.

[riclop]

Thats terrible, so many people.

[cb at sea]

The ship isn't sick...the passengers that come onboard are! Unfortunately, you can board the ship feeling just fine, and then, BAM...it hits you! You have the virus in you LONG before you know you're sick. This is the noro season! My brother, who has no kids (they are the biggest spreaders!) and is not on a cruise, just got over a bout.....it's awful. You don't want this virus, especially on vacation! But, you can catch it anywhere.

[rubrrick]

Rick,

 

Question - when one has noro, how would they be able to come to the terminal? It's a terrible sickness where you basically can't leave the bathroom/bed for much time at all. And even if they were to come to the terminal, they're infecting others there, as well.

 

I realize this is a completely different subject, but I'm asking your thoughts as this happened to me last year in Ft. Lauderdale prior to boarding the Independence. I don't believe it was noro, but something very similar (stomach), and we decided to not go to the ship at the risk of infecting others, also for myself, I was too sick to cruise. I saw your comment on cruiselines crediting a future cruise and I don't believe that's true without insurance. We are D+ and did not have insurance unfortunately, and lost almost everything. They did not credit another cruise.

 

Anyway, the bottom line is that it's a shame that someone is so selfish to bring this on the ship - feel so bad for the sick passengers.

 

Stacy, did you come to the terminal, or decide before that you did not want to chance infecting others?

 

I have personally known of one case, where the passenger admitted on the sheet filled out before boarding, that they had been sick less than 24 hours before boarding, and they were asked not to board, and given a credit. This is my only knowledge of such an occurrence.

 

You made the call, which had to be hard for you, and it's hard to believe that Royal Caribbean would have not stepped up to help you towards another cruise. Again I don't know your circumstances, and whether you cancelled at home or the terminal.

 

Rick

[Eleris]

I realize that the cruise in process is screwed but what does this mean for the next sailing? Does this mean it goes out of Bayonne on the 31st or 2/1 or never? How does Royal handle this? I have only been on one Royal cruise before and was under whelmed to say the least so now that I have not even gotten to the ship and this is happening I guess first impressions are lasting? Anyone have any prior experience with something like this?

[Jimbo]

I realize that the cruise in process is screwed but what does this mean for the next sailing? Does this mean it goes out of Bayonne on the 31st or 2/1 or never? How does Royal handle this? I have only been on one Royal cruise before and was under whelmed to say the least so now that I have not even gotten to the ship and this is happening I guess first impressions are lasting? Anyone have any prior experience with something like this?

 

Your travel agency who you booked through or Royal Caribbean themselves if you booked directly will let you know exactly how it will go down for the 31st sailing. They will let you know as soon as they know what they are going to do. If they get it under control to the CDC satisfaction then there may be no changes, right now it is still wait and see.

 

Jimbo:)

Edited January 26, 2014 by Jimbo

[Coralc]

I realize that the cruise in process is screwed but what does this mean for the next sailing? Does this mean it goes out of Bayonne on the 31st or 2/1 or never? How does Royal handle this? I have only been on one Royal cruise before and was under whelmed to say the least so now that I have not even gotten to the ship and this is happening I guess first impressions are lasting? Anyone have any prior experience with something like this?

 

Noro virus is very common and has affected various ships on all the different cruise lines. It seems to be more prevalent on cruises in the winter and early spring. It is much more common on land, but you hear about it on cruises, because it is a reportable event and the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) keeps track of such things. On land, it is a local public health department thing.

 

When people are in close contact, noro virus is very contagious. The ship will take extreme cleaning and sanitizing measures to try to stop it from spreading. Washing your hands often, often, often is really your only recourse for avoiding it. We have had several experiences with it. We made the news last year:D : http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/royal-caribbean-passengers-sick-apparent-norovirus/story?id=18687875 Our friends that live in Florida, were laughing. "Aren't Patti & Bill on that ship?"

 

We would meet up with our friends onboard after counting the little yellow quarantine magnets on the doors. We didn't come down with it. The cruise following ours didn't have any problems with it. I think we became ill from the vomiting woman on the plane home. :o

 

When you board the ship....it will be cleaner and more sanitary than it has been prior to the outbreak. They are very thorough with cleaning. You should be fine. :)

Edited January 26, 2014 by Coralc

[mcatmcat]

Again !!!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[styles27]

When I read about these outbreaks on ships I can't help but think of those infected passengers getting on many different airplanes to travel home and the number of people on those planes that will be exposed.

 

It's awful...I hope they can contain and control it very soon for everyone's sake.

[TongsPaPa]

My wife and I have done over 35 cruises w/RCCL and Celebrity and thank goodness we've never been sick 1 day on a cruise. We Lysol the room, phone and tv clicker and my wife wipes the slots before she plays. We are not germ freeks but we try not to pick any up. Why people do not wash their hands is crazy. "do we now need and hand wash patrol in all the public bathrooms or someone standing outside each one with the washy washy liquid to make sure.

PEOPLE WASH YOUR HANDS. The hand washers pay for their cruises and should be able to enjoy their trip without getting sick.

[Eleris]

I guess like previously stated it is a wait and see what happens for the 31st. If it is as bad as it sounds I hope RCCL makes the right call because I for one do not want to catch something like this. I could definitely stand to lose a few pounds but I was hoping to do it by taking the stairs and skipping desert not the norvo diet :eek:.

 

Ellen

[Kosi]

I just got this email from someone on the Explorer. She wrote it last night. Sounds dreadful to me.

 

The Captain cancelled the welcome back reception for tonite. There are over 200 who reported so far with the noro virus symptoms. We are not stopping at "Labadee" but continuing on to San Jaun. Will get there ard 8 pm and stay there til 10 pm the next day. The tables in the dining room were very sparse with diners.

 

Three at our table have it. They are offering free consultation at the medical office if you are sick. The pool deck is open today. The promenade is empty. Pushing the hand washing and the "washy-washy". Took the salt and pepper off the tables. Using paper packets. Serving food from the wind jammer - no self self. Doing a lot of cleaning and disinfecting. Hopefully they get it contained.

 

I heard from somone on this cruise.. they said.. 3 out of the 12 of them were sick.. but made it seem like those 3 were ok now..Didn't make it sound like it was a big deal at all.. Unless she is trying to make it sound better than it is??

[Mikeandme]

DH and I just got off the ship on the 21st, and all was fine. Four of our tablemates remained on board, and a number of others we met were staying on for this cruise. I'd been thinking of these "lucky" folks and what a good time they were having after we disembarked to the cold blast and snow storm. I hope this all gets taken care of soon. We really had a good time from 1/12 through 1/21. I'm assuming someone brought this on the ship after we left.

[mlbcruiser]

We were on a ship owned by another major cruiseline on a Panama Canal cruise several yrs. ago. It was a 10 or 11 day cruise. Each day the number of passengers who were ill got counted & capt. would announce how many people were still sick. All the usual Norovirus procedures were put into place. The number of ill people declined more and more. By about day 7 the capt. began to update everyone on how many were still ill. By the final full day of the cruise, procedures returned to normal.

 

On that cruise, we had 2nd seating for dinner and among our tablemates was a couple from Wales. The man had become ill a few days into the cruise and was quarantined in his cabin. His wife was still allowed to dine w/us, however. No one else at our table got sick. I felt so sorry for the ill man as he chose that ship because Aruba was the island he wanted to visit the most and he was not allowed out of his cabin. In the end, the ship's dr. said his illness had not been the norovirus and he was allowed back into "civilization". I hope he was able to cruise again and got to visit Aruba!

[138east]

I spoke to friends this evening who became ill on Tuesday and were still not feeling tip top tonight. They tried to visit medical, but gave up the first time because deck 1 was overwhelmed with sick people. By the time they got into medical two days later, it was to get treatment for the vestiges of norovirus. They were told they would not be included in the final noro case count, so it makes you wonder how many other folks fell into this category. Another friend got really sick and had to be put on an IV. Other friends have not been sick and they report seeing Hazmat teams cleaning cabins.

 

It'll be interesting to hear more details after the CDC comes on board in St. Thomas.

[Erik101]

If one person in your cabin or at your dining table gets it are you all quarantined ?

 

If I understand it correctly, you're only quarantined if you're symptomatic.

[Sanz]

On my last cruise I packed something in our first aid kit that I had never packed before and thankfully we didn't have to use on the cruise - medicianl Gator Aid powder packs. I read about a Norovirus outbreak on Cruise Critic shortly before our cruise. The outbreak was not on our ship, but it made me think about the possibility of it happening. So this year for our cruise on the Explorer I will once again be packing Gator Aid along with the aceptaminophin.

[GalCruzer]

For the ones on board, do they get any kind of compensation, such as their money back for this cruise? Or credit towards their next cruise? If so, do they have ti have already purchased insurance to receive these? Lastly for the ones set to embark on this ship for immediate future cruises, do they get the option of cancelling with a full refund?

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Stacy, did you come to the terminal, or decide before that you did not want to chance infecting others?

 

I have personally known of one case, where the passenger admitted on the sheet filled out before boarding, that they had been sick less than 24 hours before boarding, and they were asked not to board, and given a credit. This is my only knowledge of such an occurrence.

 

You made the call, which had to be hard for you, and it's hard to believe that Royal Caribbean would have not stepped up to help you towards another cruise. Again I don't know your circumstances, and whether you cancelled at home or the terminal.

 

Rick

 

Hi Rick,

 

We called from the hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Royal helped a little but we lost a lot of money. Mostly our fault due to no insurance, but I felt I made the right decision for myself and the other passengers as well. Oh well, lesson learned.

[xteacher]

I was on a Princesscruise and got the virus . Hadto stay in my cabin for 2 days and could not get off the ship in port. They do something to your cruise card and if you try to get off the machine beeps. Tried to get compensated for 2 days no luck. Now I will be on Explorer on 1-31. I am hoping they will give u the opinion to cancel with refund or credit.

[rubrrick]

Hi Rick,

 

We called from the hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Royal helped a little but we lost a lot of money. Mostly our fault due to no insurance, but I felt I made the right decision for myself and the other passengers as well. Oh well, lesson learned.

 

I'm sad to hear that. It sounds like you did the right thing, but I'm sorry Royal didn't do more. You do make a case for carring travel insurance.

 

Rick

[nbsjcruiser]

I wouldn't overreact - keep your hands obsessively clean and avoid hand to mouth/face contact and chances are you'll be fine. It's not the food you need to worry about (referencing your buffet comment), it's the tongs and other common items that are likely to be the issue more than anything, but as someone mentioned they go to a "we serve you" instead of "self serve" (as is customary) in these situations, so even that risk is reduced. Honestly, avoiding the buffet and eating in the MDR is likely equally as risky as there's no shortage of "common" items there either, many of which don't necessarilly get cleaned regularly I'd think. Menu's anyone?

 

The buffet could actually be the SAFER of the options if you think about it.

 

In the end, basically, keep yourself clean and you can reduce any risk from other ignorant sorts who weren't so careful themselves.

 

I think if I ever am on a ship with an outbreak like this, I'll just use the MDR for every meal.

 

BTW, this might be a good time for RCI to do a deep clean on all their ships at the end of their present cruises.

Edited January 26, 2014 by nbsjcruiser